SECTION 1.  In order to protect the natural environment, preserve resources, save money, achieve progress toward the Commonwealth's goals to reduce greenhouse gases and create green jobs in Massachusetts, the Department of Environmental Protection shall establish performance standards for the reduction of municipal solid waste, as further described herein, to achieve the purposes of the Commonwealth's solid waste master plan and greenhouse gas reduction plan. Said performance standards shall be promulgated no later than 120 days after the effective date of this act.

SECTION 2.  The Department of Environmental Protection shall establish performance standards for municipal solid waste reduction on the basis of pounds per capita of solid waste disposed. Said standards shall reduce solid waste to no more than six hundred pounds per capita by July 1, 2015 and no more than four hundred fifty pounds per capita by July 1, 2020.

SECTION 3. Cities and towns shall report to the Department of Environmental Protection no later than September 1 of each year the total weight of solid waste disposed of through said city or town’s solid waste program during the prior fiscal year, as well as the number of households and residents believed to participate in said program.  The Department shall issue a report for all municipal solid waste programs no later than December 1 of that year which provides per capita solid waste disposal statistics for all municipal solid waste programs.  Said report may disaggregate solid waste tonnage information to highlight categories of waste, including waste that is beyond the ability of a city or town to control, such as waste from natural disasters. 

SECTION 4.  The Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Energy Resources, shall develop a Municipal Solid Waste Standards Action Plan to assist municipalities in achieving the standards set forth in this Act. The Secretary shall review the effectiveness of existing recycling programs and other incentives available to achieve said standards and shall provide any recommendation, including but not limited to, potential regulatory and statutory changes to the Commonwealth’s Solid Waste Master Plan, the 2020 Clean Energy and Climate Plan, and the Commonwealth’s Green Communities Plan.  The Secretary shall consult with the Solid Waste Advisory Committee in developing said plan.